Liquid Container with Enhanced Fluid Flow

ABSTRACT

A container with enhanced fluid flow includes a container body having a bottom wall and a continuous side wall extending upwardly from the bottom wall to define an interior area to hold a liquid, the container body having a top wall defining a primary opening. A channel member includes an upper end situated outside the interior area and a lower end situated inside the interior area proximate the lower wall, the channel member having a body section extending between the channel member upper end and the channel member lower end. The channel member body section includes a hollow configuration and the channel member upper and lower ends are open. The liquid container includes a cap configured to removably cover the open upper end of the channel member. In some embodiments, the channel member is situated on the interior of the container body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to fluid containers and, moreparticularly, to a liquid container having a spout and a tubular stemconfigured to selectively channel air to a lower region of the containerso as to enhance fluid flow through the spout.

Beverages and other liquids are often packaged and consumed directlyfrom cans or bottles having a primary opening or spout through whichliquid is delivered when tipped toward a horizontal configuration. Forexample, soda and beer is traditionally consumed from a can or bottlehaving an upper opening. Unfortunately, consumption usually requiresmultiple “sips” rather than multiple continuous swallows in that theliquid is unable to flow due to a lack of air flow into the bottle orcan to continuously replace the outgoing liquid. In other words, avacuum may be created that must be broken before further liquid may bereleased.

Liquids other than beverages that are stored in bottles with nosecondary air vent are also dispensed inefficiently. For example, oilpoured from a bottle into an engine oil reservoir must be poured slowlyto avoid “sloshing” out in an uncontrolled manner—an unfortunate resultof air inefficiently/suddenly replacing outgoing oil.

Various devices have been proposed and utilized in the prior art toimprove uneven outflow of a liquid from a container. For instance,gasoline cans may include a secondary air vent in an upper walldisplaced from a primary spout through which air may enter the containerto replace liquid that is poured out of the primary spout. Althoughassumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing designs donot maximize the efficiency and smoothness of fluid transfer that wouldbe obtained if air was channeled directly to the bottom of the containerwhen tipped toward a horizontal configuration.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a liquid container having aprimary outlet and a straw-like tube extending from a container upperend to a point proximate an internal lower end that is configured tochannel air to the internal lower end when liquid flows out from theprimary outlet. Further, it would be desirable to have a container inwhich the tube may be selectively capped so that air is not channeledtherethrough until the cap is removed and liquid is dispensed throughthe primary outlet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A container with enhanced fluid flow according to the present inventionincludes a container body having a bottom wall and a continuous sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom wall so as to define an interiorarea configured to hold a liquid, the container body having a top walldefining a primary opening. An elongate channel member includes an upperend situated outside the interior area and extending away from the upperwall and having a lower end situated inside the interior area proximatethe lower wall, the channel member having a body section extendingbetween the channel member upper end and the channel member lower end.The channel member body section includes a hollow configuration and thechannel member upper end is open and the channel member lower end isopen. The liquid container includes a cap configured to removably coverthe open upper end of the channel member. In some embodiments, thechannel member is situated on the interior of the container body.

Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a liquidcontainer having a primary outlet adjacent a tubular vent that isconfigured to channel air to a lower end of the container so as toreplace outgoing liquid.

Another object of this invention is to provide a liquid container, asaforesaid, that is configured to enable liquid to be dispensed smoothlyand continuously through the primary opening when the container istipped to a horizontal or inverted configuration.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a liquid container,as aforesaid, in which the channel member is selectively opened orclosed as desired.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a liquid container,as aforesaid, in which the liquid within the container is not drawnupward into the channel member.

A further object of this invention is to provide a liquid container, asaforesaid, that is easy to use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration andexample, embodiments of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a liquid container with an enhancedfluid flow according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 a is a top view of the liquid container as in FIG. 1 with the capremoved;

FIG. 2 b is a side view of the liquid container as in FIG. 1 with thecap removed;

FIG. 2 c is a front view of the liquid container as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 c;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a liquid container with an enhancedfluid flow according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 a is a top view of the liquid container as in FIG. 4 with the capremoved;

FIG. 5 b is a side view of the liquid container as in FIG. 4 with thecap removed;

FIG. 5 c is a front view of the liquid container as in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5 c;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a liquid container with an enhancedfluid flow according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 a is a top view of the liquid container as in FIG. 7 with the capremoved;

FIG. 8 b is a side view of the liquid container as in FIG. 7 with thecap removed;

FIG. 8 c is a front view of the liquid container as in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 8 c;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a liquid container with an enhancedfluid flow according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 a is a top view of the liquid container as in FIG. 10 with thecap removed;

FIG. 11 b is a side view of the liquid container as in FIG. 10 with thecap removed;

FIG. 11 c is a front view of the liquid container as in FIG. 10; and

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 11 c.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A liquid container having enhanced fluid flow according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention will now be described with referenceto FIGS. 1 to * of the accompanying drawings. The liquid container 10includes a container body 20 and a channel member 40.

The liquid container 10 includes a container body 20 having at least abottom wall 22, a continuous side wall 24 extending upwardly from thebottom wall 22 and, in some embodiments, a top wall. The container body20 may include a neck 27 having an upper edge 28 defining a primaryopening 30. Together, the walls of the container body 20 define aninterior area configured to receive and contain a liquid such as abeverage, motor oil, or the like. In one embodiment, the container body20 may be a beverage bottle while in another embodiment the containerbody 20 may be a beverage can or a container of motor oil.

The channel member 40 includes an elongate hollow configuration. Moreparticularly, the channel member 40 may have a tubular configuration inthe form of a straw or inner tube stem. The channel member 40 includesan open upper end 42 and an opposed open lower end 44 with a tubularbody section 46 extending between the opposed ends. The open lower end44 may have an angled or cross-cut configuration having a two-foldfunctionality. First, the cross-cut opening may enhance release of airinto the container body interior area and, second, may inhibit abackflow of liquid into the channel member 40 when the container body 20is tilted back to the normally vertical configuration. The channelmember 40 is configured such that ambient air from outside the containerbody 20 may be channeled from the upper end 42 to the lower end 44proximate the container body bottom wall 22 when the container body 20is tilted away from a normally vertical configuration.

Preferably, the bottom wall 22 is generally planar so as to support thecontainer body 20 in a generally and normally upright or verticalconfiguration upon a support surface such as a table or when held by auser. The container body 20, however, may be tilted away from thenormally vertical configuration to a generally horizontal configurationor even a generally inverted configuration when the liquid in theinterior area is intended to flow through the primary opening 30. Forexample, a beverage container may be tilted toward a horizontalconfiguration when drinking a beverage. A container may be substantiallyinverted when pouring motor oil into an appropriate engine reservoir. Aswill be discussed later, a beverage container having the inventivedesign disclosed herein may also be inverted to enable a user to ingestthe beverage more quickly than normal—an activity sometimes referred toas “shotgunning.”

The liquid container 10 according to the present invention includes acap 48 configured to removably cover the open upper end 42 of thechannel member 40. When the cap 48 is secured to the open upper end 42,such as with a friction fit construction, air is sealed from enteringthe body section 46 of the channel member 40. In this configuration, thecontainer body 20 may be used to deliver its liquid contents in atraditional manner. In other words, the air flow of the container body20 is not enhanced and may result in the disadvantages describedearlier. However, when the cap 48 is removed, air is permitted to flowthrough the channel member 40 and into the interior area of thecontainer body 20 so as to replace the volume of liquid that issimultaneously being poured through the primary opening 30 or that ismerely displaced from the lower end 44 of the channel member 40 as thecontainer body 20 is tilted toward a horizontal or invertedconfiguration.

In some embodiments, the side wall 24 of the container body 20 maydefine a secondary opening 32 through which the channel member 40 mayextend into the interior area of the container body 20. Preferably, thesecondary opening 32 is spaced apart but proximate to the primaryopening 30. With this configuration, air is able to be channeled fromabove a normal liquid height to a point proximate the body containerbottom wall 22 so as to replace liquid with air as the liquid is pouredas described above. In such embodiments, such as those shown in FIGS. 1to 3 and 7 to 9, the channel member 40 may be referred to as an“internal channel member” as the open upper end 42 is outside thecontainer body 20 while the body section 46 and open lower end 44 aresituated inside the interior area. More particularly, the body section46 may be situated proximate or adjacent to an inner surface of thecontainer body side wall 24 (FIG. 3). However, a channel member 40having a linear configuration not conforming to the shape of thecontainer body side wall 24 may also work.

Primed numerals will be used below and in the accompanying drawings toreference several embodiments of the present invention.

In an embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the side wall 24′ does notdefine a secondary opening such that the channel member 40′ is situatedon the outside of the container body 20′ and may be referred to as an“external channel member.” More particularly, the open upper end 42′ anda substantial extent of an external channel member 40′ are situatedproximate or adjacent to an exterior surface of the container body sidewall 24′ (FIGS. 4 to 6 and 10 to 12). An external channel member 40′ maybe preferred by some manufacturers in that manufacturing may besimplified or more economical without a secondary opening or assembly ofan internal channel member. Primed numerals are utilized to referencethe same structures first described above.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show another embodiment of a liquid container 10″ in whicha container body 20″ has a generally rectangular configuration and aninternal channel member 40″. Such a container is generally used in theart for non-beverage liquids such as motor oil or the like. Doubleprimed numerals are utilized to reference the same structures firstdescribed above.

FIGS. 10 to 12 show another embodiment of a liquid container 10′″ inwhich a container body 20′″ has a generally rectangular configurationand an internal channel member 40′″. Such a container is generally usedin the art for non-beverage liquids such as motor oil or the like.Triple primed numerals are utilized to reference the same structuresfirst described above.

In still another embodiment, the channel member 40 may include a one-wayvalve (not shown) positioned in the open lower end 44. The valve isconfigured to permit air to flow from the channel member body section 46outward through the open lower end 44 but to prevent liquid in thecontainer body interior area from flowing into the channel member bodysection through the open lower end 44. The valve may be as simple as agravity operable flap (open when tilted and closed when upright) to amore sophisticated pressure valve or inclination operable valve having asensor that detects when the container body 20 is at the normallyvertical configuration versus an inclined configuration.

In yet another embodiment, the channel member may have a truncatedconfiguration (not shown). In this embodiment, the channel member may bea spring biased vent assembly proximate a lower end of the containerbody 20. More particularly, the vent assembly may be manually insertedby a user through the side wall 24 and into the interior area when it isdesired to establish an airflow into the lower region of the interiorarea, for example, when the container body 20 is tilted to pour liquidfrom the primary opening 30 as described above. The vent assembly may bebiased to close when manual pressure is released, such as when a userhas finished a drinking or pouring activity.

In use, a user may open a liquid container, such as a beverage bottle,in a traditional manner such that liquid may be poured or consumedthrough the primary opening 30. If (or when) a user desires to enhancethe flow of liquid from the body container interior area, he may removethe cap 48 from the upper end 42 of the channel member 40 and then tiltthe container body toward a horizontal or inverted position. This actionresults in air flowing into the channel member 40 through the open upperend. As the container body 20 is tilted, the channeled air travels tothe lower end 44 of the channel member 40 and is received into theinterior area of the container body 20. The air creates a fluid flowwith the primary opening 30, causing the liquid to flow therethroughefficiently and smoothly.

The structure described above is advantageous and has utility forseveral practical applications. Venting the interior area of a bottleenables a beverage or other liquid to flow efficiently, smoothly, andfaster through a primary outlet/opening. This is an improvement overtraditional beverage containers in that a user need not take multiplesips or small drinks due to a vacuum created as a result of having novented airflow. It is sometimes the case when a user desires to drink analcoholic beverage in a “shotgun” manner—which may include piercing abottom of a beer can so as to create a fluid flow then drink the entirecan's contents from the primary opening. The present channel member 40can selectively provide this functionality when the cap 48 is removedand the container body 20 is tilted enough to cause the desired enhancedairflow. In another application, the cap 48 may be removed from a bottleof engine oil and the container body 20 may be inverted, causingefficient and smooth flow of the engine oil from the primary opening 30.

It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have beenillustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar assuch limitations are included in the following claims and allowablefunctional equivalents thereof.

1. A liquid container, comprising: a container body having a bottom walland a continuous side wall extending upwardly from said bottom wall soas to define an interior area configured to hold a liquid, saidcontainer body having an upper edge defining a primary opening; anelongate channel member having an upper end situated outside saidinterior area and extending away from said upper wall and having a lowerend situated inside said interior area proximate said lower wall, saidchannel member having a body section extending between said channelmember upper end and said channel member lower end; wherein said channelmember body section includes a hollow configuration and said channelmember upper end is open and said channel member lower end is open; anda cap configured to removably cover said open upper end.
 2. The liquidcontainer as in claim 1, wherein: one of said side wall and said topwall defines a secondary opening proximate said primary opening; andsaid channel member body section extends through said secondary openinginto said container body interior area.
 3. The liquid container as inclaim 2, wherein said channel member body section is situated proximatean interior surface of said container body side wall.
 4. The liquidcontainer as in claim 1, wherein said channel member body section issituated proximate an exterior surface of said container body side wall.5. The liquid container as in claim 1, wherein said primary opening isconfigured to allow said liquid in said container to flow therethroughwhen said container body is tilted from a normally verticalconfiguration toward a horizontal configuration.
 6. The liquid containeras in claim 1, wherein said primary opening is configured to allow saidliquid in said interior area to flow therethrough when said containerbody is tilted from a normally vertical configuration toward an invertedconfiguration.
 7. The liquid container as in claim 1, wherein saidchannel member is configured such that air from outside said containerbody flows through said open upper end to said open lower end when saidcap is removed and said container body is tilted from a normallyvertical configuration toward one of a horizontal or an invertedconfiguration.
 8. The liquid container as in claim 1, wherein saidchannel member includes a tubular configuration.
 9. The liquid containeras in claim 1, wherein said lower end of said channel member includes across-cut configuration so that air channeled therethrough isefficiently released from said channel member into said interior areaand a backflow of said liquid is inhibited.
 10. The liquid container asin claim 1, wherein said body container is a beer bottle.
 11. The liquidcontainer as in claim 1, wherein said body container is a beer can. 12.The liquid container as in claim 1, wherein said body container is anengine oil container.
 13. The liquid container as in claim 1, furthercomprising a valve positioned in said channel member lower end that isconfigured to allow air to pass outwardly from said channel member intosaid container body interior area and to prevent a liquid from passinginwardly from said container body interior area into said channelmember.